New driving hassles loom for motorists

Erin McCormick, OF THE EXAMINER STAFF

Published 4:00 am, Friday, September 27, 1996

1996-09-27 04:00:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Just when you thought it was safe to drive in San Francisco again, Caltrans and the city Department of Parking and Traffic are putting up new obstacles near the now-closed Central Freeway.

The roadblocks begin with Sunday's closure of a five-block section of Folsom Street for the annual Folsom Street Fair. The one-day shutdown between 7th and 12th streets will block key alternate routes for drivers displaced by the demolition of the Central Freeway, including crucial Ninth Street.

Wednesday, Caltrans plans to close Market Street between Octavia and Valencia, so a portion of the Central Freeway that runs above it can be demolished. The three-week closure, will force 33,000 cars a day to use detours around the closed block of Market Street.

"It's expected to cause some backups," said Caltrans Spokesman Jeff Weiss. "We would suggest that people avoid Market Street altogether, if possible."

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"These projects could cause congestion, but only if people don't have a plan to get around them," Weiss said.

The Market Street closure was originally scheduled for Monday but was postponed until Wednesday because one of the giant hydraulic hammers used in knocking down the Central Freeway's upper deck suffered a mechanical breakdown.

"The contractors don't want to close the street until they are ready to do major demolition there," Weiss said.

"We don't want to inconvenience people who use Market more than we have to."

Weiss said the two-day delay shouldn't affect Caltrans' schedule to complete the project in December.

To avoid the Market Street closure, Caltrans recommends that cars heading downtown on Market Street turn right at 14th Street, then left at Valencia to return to Market. Drivers can also use Duboce Street to Valencia. Westbound drivers should bypass the Market closure by turning right on Haight Street, then left on Octavia to get back to Market.

The closure will force Muni to abandon its use of antique streetcars on the F-Market line. Starting Saturday, diesel buses will take the place of streetcars. The buses will leave their normal routes to detours around the closure.

To avoid the Folsom Fair Sunday, Weiss suggests that anyone who doesn't need to go downtown avoid freeway exits at Ninth and Seventh streets. It may be better to take the remaining nub of the Central Freeway to exit at South Van Ness.

"The Folsom Street Fair is a one-day thing, and it might be a biggie," Weiss said. "The Market Street closure is three weeks, so it's time for people to get out a pencil and paper and work out an alternate route to that one." &lt;